Musing at the Museum
by Katbird 90
Summary: A look into the blooming relationship of Sesshomaru and Kagome, from meeting one another in the present time to learning about their past together.
1. The First Meeting

Chapter 1

* * *

The First Meeting

The smell of times long past tinged through the air in the small rooms. Relics representing everyday life from hundreds of years ago were nestled safely in glass cases. Armor and swords occupied the room in the back. The carpet covering the wooden floors was worn down from the passage of time. This was the Heaven to Earth Museum, built in 1671 and run by the Tanaka family from generation to generation. Few knew of the museum, fewer had walked through the rooms where history was portrayed so elegantly, and fewer still knew of the secrets housed within the very walls of the museum.

* * *

Kagome Higurashi was an average woman fresh out of college with a Master's in History. She had always wanted to work in a museum, but there never seemed to be an opening anywhere. Desperate for a job, Kagome was about to settle working at her family's shrine as a shrine maiden when, as fate would have it, she stumbled upon a run down building with a sign that was barely legible, reading "Hea...n ...rth Mu...em." Deciding to take a chance, she tried the handle to see if the door was locked. It wasn't. "Hello," she called walking into the quaint lobby.

There were a few moments of silence, then a voice from a room away answered back with, "Just a moment, please." After another minute, a figure appeared in the doorway of what looked to be an office. He was tall, handsome, slim. Though he looked to be no older than thirty, his hair was silver, the most beautiful color of silver Kagome had ever seen. "Yes, may I help you?" spoke a voice, no longer muffled by a wall, that sounded as if the heavens were singing.

Kagome, slightly stunned by the man in front of her, took a second to gather her thoughts. "Is… is this a museum?"

"It is," the voice of heaven answered. "You may walk through if you would like. Do you want a tour or can you find your way around? I'm afraid most of the pieces here are not labeled." His words were inviting, but his tone was less so, with a tinge of annoyance displayed in his eyes - his golden eyes.

* * *

This place had been his home for almost four- hundred years now. Though fond of it, he was tired of running a museum that never saw visitors. True, he detested humans, but it would have been nice if more people came by, if for nothing else but to keep the boredom at bay. 'Stupid curse,' he thought as he opened his account book. Still, he continued to muse, humans were amusing and he truly did love the museum. Mostly he loved the history that was preserved in the rooms; however, seeing the relics often made him miss the past when he could roam as he pleased.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a timid voice calling out , "Hello?" It had been a month since someone had ventured into his little piece of heaven, and it took him a minute to gather himself.

As he walked out into the lobby, she stood there with a quizzical look on her face, as though confused or hesitant. With some prompting, she settled down and asked, " Are you hiring?"

'Am I hiring?' the demon asked himself. In the almost four-hundred years he has operated the museum, he had never hired anyone. It was a small building, housing only a small amount of history; why would he need help with it? He studied the woman in front of him for the first time, noticing her simple demeanor, her elegant looks, and her beautiful black hair. 'Beautiful!?' he surprised himself with that thought. Her hair was beautiful, he allowed, and so were her features.

"I would not be able to pay you much," he said finally.

"That's fine," there was excitement in her voice as her eyes danced with glee. "Really, all I want is to work in a place that is filled with history. It's the history I want."

Impressed by her response, he closed the distance between them and stuck out his hand, "Sesshomaru Tanaka."

Smiling, the girl accepted the handshake. "Kagome Higurashi. Thank you so much!"

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	2. Artifacts

Chapter 2

Artifacts

Tokyo was always busy, always running at a fast pace. Trains and buses carrying passengers where they needed to go, restaurants full of hungry people: the city never seemed to take a break. Sitting in his office, Sesshomaru found himself missing the simpler life for the thousandth time. The city was loud, there were too many people, and there were too many smells.

Walking to the back of the museum, he entered the armor and swords' room: his favorite room. In the far-left corner, his breastplate rested on its stand, looking worn from battle. Sesshomaru walked over to it and started to polish the piece, humming to himself as he did so. In the case next to his armor were two swords. Their sheathes seemed simple. One handle looked battered and in need of repair while the other handle looked as though no hand had ever touched it. Tessaiga and Tenseiga - his brother's sword and his own. The swords representing earth and heaven.

Once finished polishing the breastplate, he opened the sword case and took the Tenseiga. As he moved to unsheathe it, a voice reached his ears, "Mr. Tanaka?" 'Yes,' he thought, he had hired the Higurashi woman last week. 'She's early.'

"In the back," he called to her. After a moment, she appeared in the doorway. A few seconds of silence passed. "Ms. Higurashi, it is rude to stare," Sesshomaru said as he began to polish his most prized possession.

* * *

'Rude to stare?' The words took a minute to sink in. "Oh! Sorry, Mr. Tanaka!" Kagome said, bowing her apologies. She took note of the only three pieces in the room that seemed to receive care and wondered why he didn't polish the rest of the armor and weapons. Deciding she would ask about that at another time, Kagome cleared her throat and then spoke. "What would you like for me to do today?" Her voice was hopeful. This was her third day working at the museum, and so far, all she had done was sit at the front desk waiting to greet the visitors who never came.

"Greet visitors as they enter, please." Kagome's shoulders dropped.

"I could label some pieces? You know, I grew up living on the grounds of a shrine. You have a holy artifacts gallery; I could be useful!" She didn't want to plead, but manning the desk was not what she had in mind when she took the job. And so far, no one had visited the museum.

* * *

The holy artifacts were safely kept near the front of the museum. Being a demon, the pieces in that room caused slight tickling across his skin. He was too powerful of a demon for the artifacts to have any effect on him, but he still rather to not enter that room. He had noticed upon their first meeting that shaking the woman's hand had tickled. 'She must have dormant holy powers,' Sesshomaru mused. Perhaps making her responsible for that gallery wouldn't be such a bad idea. "Very well. The holy artifacts room is yours to maintain. Please study the items in the room. There is a small library upstairs that will have the books you need to do so." He paused, thinking. "Some of the pieces have had nothing published about them. For those, you may ask me." Nodding to himself, he felt that was all that needed to be said and looked back to the sword pulsing in his hand.

"If there aren't any publications on them, how do you know about the pieces?"

'Right,' he forgot for a second that generally people were unaware of demonkind. The few people he had contact with were the later generations of his friends. The memories of how he became friends with humans alluded him; they always had. "My family has owned this museum since it opened. Before then, they were the collectors of the pieces." His family being him.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Sorry it took so long to publish the second chapter; finals and papers prevented me from posting. However, the third chapter is almost finished and will be posted next week! Again, thank you everyone for the comments, they made my day!


	3. Dreams, Part One

Chapter 3

Dreams, Part One

Blood. It was everywhere. Her hair, hands, clothes, even in her mouth. She felt like vomiting. All around her were bodies, dead bodies. Did she know these people? She felt that she did; however, she couldn't put names to their faces. What was she doing on this battlefield? She did not belong here.

There was a pulsing sensation coming from within her chest. The pulsing kept getting stronger as she took in the carnage around her. Was the pulsing her heart breaking?

* * *

Kagome woke with a start. 'What was that?' she questioned. She had always had vivid dreams and she could have sworn several times that her dreams were real until waking up still in her bed, but never had she had a dream with so much blood and death.

She turned to see the clock. 3:18 in the morning. 'Too early to make coffee.' Deciding to go for a walk, Kagome got out of bed and changed out of her pajamas. Walking to the front door of the house, she put her shoes on and decided to visit the old well. Since she was a teenager, the well had brought her comfort. Kagome remembered that when she was younger she never entered the well house because it was dark and scary. 'What changed?' she had often wondered.

Kagome didn't remember much about her teenage years. She knew that she had been sick, in and out of the hospital, all throughout high school, but she could not remember what had been wrong with her. Her family was always vague on the matter when asked. Because of being so sick, her grades had suffered, making being accepted into college difficult, but she had been accepted.

Walking into the well house, she placed her hands on the worn wooden lip. Her hands fit perfectly into the dips. The dips felt like someone had placed their entire weight upon the well thousands of times. It was comforting. The pulsing in her chest began once more. 'What? That was just a dream!' Freaking out a little, Kagome backed away from the well slightly. The pulsing continued.

Flashes of the dream she had just had replayed over and over in her mind. The pulsing was becoming stronger. Silver danced across her eyes. The pulsing grew stronger once more. The clanging of metal assaulted her ears. Screams filled the small well house. She could smell the blood and the rotting flesh. Kagome felt like her chest was going to explode it was pulsing so hard and fast!

"Kagome!" a ragged voice called out in anguish.

"Stay with us!" another man, his voice was smoother, but filled with fear.

"No! Kagome! Kagome! Please!" a woman this time, she was crying.

"Don't leave me!" a child's plead.

* * *

Birds were chirping a happy little song, sunlight was creeping in through the cracks, and the smell of the morning dew was in the air. These were not what woke her up though. No, what woke her up was a feeling that felt familiar but she had never felt it before. It felt like home, like a part of her that had been missing. She felt whole.

Kagome could feel the air around her. She could feel life surrounding her, even the energy coming from the wooden well. 'The well?' She opened her eyes to look at it. So, she had come out to the well house during the night. Did that mean everything that she thought was a dream really happened? Who were those people calling out to her? Why were they distraught?

Surrounding the well was a faint light that glowed blue. She had never seen anything like it before. 'Maybe it's an aura?' she questioned herself. Were auras even real? Before she could doubt the reality of them, the door opened and her mother was standing there. More than seeing her, Kagome felt her mother's presence, and more than hear her, she felt her words: "Kagome? Is everything alright?"

* * *

Mrs. Higurashi did not possess holy powers like her daughter did, but she had lived on the grounds of a shrine filled with holy power her whole life. One did not live surrounded by such power for fifty years and not be able to sense it. However, this was more than sensing the power; she could see it! It was surging around her daughter, it was radiating off of her body, the power had engulfed the entire grounds of the shrine. The pink, wispy light was coming from Kagome.

Her daughter did not move, she just looked at her with a strange gleam in her eyes.

* * *

Kagome did not know what to think. This was all so new! And her mother! She could see the love and worry floating around her mother! What was this? However, despite what was happening, she felt no fear. Looking at her mother, Kagome felt only peace and comfort. The dream didn't matter anymore and the voices didn't plague her.

Before her mom even opened her mouth, Kagome could feel the words she was going to say: "There's something you need to know."


	4. Dreams, Part Two

Chapter 4

Dreams, Part Two

A child's laughter. Flowers. Peaceful days near the riverbank. These were the things he dreamed about. Looking back on his long life, he could not recall such things being in his life, but he supposed that dreams did not have to have anything to do with real life. In his dreams, there was never blood, never fighting. All he ever dreamed about were sunny days, laughter, and flowers. On occasion, a pair of sapphire eyes would appear, but mostly, his dreams never changed.

Except for tonight.

Not one for sleeping often, Sesshomaru always looked forward to fields of flowers and following a laughing child through the fields. Tonight, however, his dreams had him carrying an injured woman. She was crying and clinging to him. She was not the child. Her hair was the darkest black he had ever seen, and her skin white as snow, and her eyes bluer than the blue that sometimes appeared in the world of dreams. She was human.

* * *

Something was different. Very different. And it wasn't just that the woman smelled different. No. There was power coming off of her. A lot of power. The power was something he had not felt in over five-hundred years. It was raw. It crawled across his skin. It tingled. And yet, the power caused him no harm, there was no ill intent laced within the power. The normal little human woman, who just a few days prior was as weak as any human, now had almost as much power as he did. What had caused the change?

Even being consumed in so much power, there was still something else different about her. The normally bubbly woman, always humming or talking to herself, was strangely quiet today. She was in the holy artifacts room, armed with ancient scrolls, and not making a sound. 'How odd,' the demon mused. He had grown used to her presence and her noises. Sesshomaru wanted to say something to her, to see if she was alright. He did not, however, want to enter that room with her.

In his youth, Sesshomaru had chased after power, he craved it. This power though, he feared it. The artifacts in that room were reacting to her power and he dare not go near it.

Something else was wrong besides the power. Kagome had entered the museum looking haunted this morning and she had not greeted him like she did every morning.

* * *

Deciding to wash the day away, Sesshomaru filled the tub with steaming water, turned on traditional music, and dimmed the lights. He sat a cup of tea beside the tub and stepped in the water. As he closed his eyes, his mind began to drift.

Laughter rang in his ears. The scent of flowers danced around his nose. Dreams overcame him. He was a young demon lord once more, roaming the land. The land his father had left to him after dying, the land he had fought hard to keep. How much blood had he lost protecting this land? The bloodshed and violence did not matter, not here in the world of dreams.

Here all that matter was the little human girl, with her yellow and orange kimono and her crown made of flowers. Even though she was a dream, Sesshomaru felt like she was his own child. His heart ached every time she smiled. She smelled of nature, of spring after a rain. Something inside of him cried out, wanting her to be real.

* * *

Poison was heavy in the air. What was this place? His father's tomb? He remembered finding it, but he could not recall the details of how he found it or of how his brother came to possess the Tessaiga. He remembered the poison though.

He was dreaming of his father's tomb, but Kagome was present. She was with his brother. Sesshomaru felt like he was watching a movie. He was angry at his brother and trying to kill Kagome. He doused her with poison!

* * *

Dreams of the human child and of Kagome plagued him all night. However, the dreams didn't feel like dreams. They felt like memories.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I debated making this the fifth chapter, but decided against it. In the next chapter, there will be some back-tracking to Kagome.

Also, about how much cannon will be in this story: I haven't seen The Final Act, but leading up to that, the story is mostly cannon. In the present time, Sesshomaru's character is more accepting of humans because it's been hundreds of years and the world has changed, he has changed. It will be a few more chapters before it is explained about the dreams and the lost memories.

The next chapter will be out hopefully next week, if not then in two weeks.


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